Monthly Archives

Monthly Archives for September 2016.

Holy Smokes: 6+ Business Class Award Seats West Coast – Europe Almost Every Day Spring/Summer

by Gary Leff

Sep 17 2016

Last night I wrote about Austrian’s new flight between Vienna and Los Angeles.

Austrian is a Star Alliance airline, you can use miles with United, Aeroplan, ANA, LifeMiles, and many other programs to book awards to and through Vienna to most places you’d want to go in Europe and even Asia.

And I shared that there were days after this new flight goes into the schedule April 10 where there are 6 or more business class seats available. Most dates weren’t showing up for United, though, although they were bookable by some Star Alliance partners.

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Last Night American Revamped the Way it Sells Tickets Online

by Gary Leff

airplanes tarmac
Sep 17 2016

Last month I reported that was discontinuing the sale of fare ‘bundles’ and would change the way they handle upsells.

We don’t yet know exactly what that’s going to look like, since it will be heavily influenced by new stripped-down ‘basic economy’ economy fares whose details haven’t been released yet — we’ll see that before the end of the year. Odds on they’ll follow Delta, which has taken heat for ‘hate selling’.

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How United, Delta, and American Fail Basic Business With Revenue-Based Frequent Flyer Changes

by Gary Leff

Sep 16 2016

The person who buys full fare tickets but doesn’t pick their own travel provider (either because they ignore it, their corporate travel department buys the tickets) isn’t going to spend more money on an airline because the loyalty program is slanted to high revenue travelers.

Yet a program can influence both choice of travel provider and total amount of travel. A business traveler is less reluctant to travel if she’s being rewarded for it. They may not fight against travel when they aren’t just getting their expenses covered but they have something to cash in later. Without a rewarding scheme, business travelers become more reluctant to travel.

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Delta Serving Shake Shack Burgers for National Cheeseburger Day

by Gary Leff

Sep 16 2016

Delta has a partnership with Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality Group. That means Union Square Cafe, Blue Smoke, Shake Shack and the like.

When Delta started serving Blue Smoke barbecue onboard, and a Shake Shack opened in the Delta terminal at New York JFK, I revised my opinion of Delta’s food upward and of Danny Meyer downward. This Sunday September 18 is National Cheeseburger Day (who knew?)…

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Marriott Rewards Launching Huge Marketing Campaign Worldwide, What it Means for Members

by Gary Leff

Sep 15 2016

Marriott is launching a new ad campaign tonight during NFL football centered around its loyalty program and members. They’re not focusing on the features and benefits of members, but people who are members having experiences at their hotels. The campaign will run globally including in Canada, China, the U.K., Germany, Mexico, France, Brazil, and India.

There’s something meta about marketing your marketing program.

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FLASH: Star Alliance Business Class Award Availability for the Whole Family to Asia

by Gary Leff

airline seat
Sep 15 2016

I wrote last month about amazing business class award availability on Austrian across all of their US routes. Some of that space is still out there, and you can use miles with United, Aeroplan, LifeMiles, or other Star Alliance carriers to book it.

A couple of days ago I wrote about phenomenal award availability on United’s Brussels and Amsterdam flights. More opportunities to book not just one or two seats in business class across the Pond.

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